Calgary Transit installs automated passenger counting system on CTrain

Calgary Transit has upgraded to automated passenger counting (APC) technology on CTrains, which the agency says will leave it in a better position to make data-driven decisions when planning service for its riders.

“To have this daily feedback on the number of customers using public transit, across the entire system, is important for adjusting our operations and future planning,” said Calgary Transit Leader of Performance and Analytics Laura Hoskins. “It’s a big value-add piece not just for us at Calgary Transit, but for being strategic on where we and council invest dollars to improve service and expand the network.”

Having been on buses since 2023, the automated sensors at each door capture when people board. The sensors provide consistent, system-wide daily data. Around 70% of the CTrain fleet have APCs, which will increase as older trains are replaced with newer stock.

“We know events throughout the year, and especially events in the summer, always attract more people using Calgary Transit,” Hoskins said. “This new data will help tell us when we should be scheduling more trains or less trains depending on the time of year.”

The agency notes that this data can show trends over the course of weeks, months and years, which can support it in deploying the fleet of buses and train cars that closer reflects its demanded ridership throughout the system. In the future, data from new payment technologies will be used in tandem with APC data to further refine its services.

Using the new methodology, the agency totaled 2025 ridership at 93.1 million trips. To ensure accurate year-over-year comparisons, the 2024 ridership total was restated using this approach, which totaled 93.7 million trips. The agency says the slight decrease in 2025 can be attributed to the February 2025 extreme cold event, workforce shortages throughout the fall that required select route cuts and a teacher strike in October 2025.  When these factors are considered, Calgary Transit says underlying ridership demand continues to show stable growth.

Fare revenues for 2025 totaled C$123 million (US$90 million), an increase of C$10 million (US$7.3 million), or 9%, compared to 2024. The agency says this increase reflects an increase in fare prices, the number of fares sold and fare compliance initiatives like the installation of platform validators for CTrain and fare enforcement blitzes.

Before APCs, Calgary Transit said it estimated ridership by using manual passenger counts and periodic sampling. The agency notes this approach is industry-standard, used across most transit agencies in North America and comes with limitations, as it relies on modelling and assumptions to develop systemwide estimates for ridership.